cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/52299302
After years of saying little about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, African nations are showing growing signs of irritation with Moscow for luring their citizens to fight and die on the Russian army’s front lines.
African leaders are increasingly speaking up about a clear pattern in which paid recruiters in Russia and Africa coax young men to come to Russia with promises of civilian jobs or training. Once they arrive, they are urged or forced to join the Russian army, which has run short of soldiers for its human wave assaults on Ukrainian positions.
The investigative journalism organization INPACT reported in February that 1,417 Africans had served in the Russian army or mercenary organizations, and 316 had died in combat. The highest death tolls were among citizens of Cameroon, Ghana, and Egypt.
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Ghana’s foreign minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, said last month that nearly 300 Ghanaians had been drawn into the fighting, many lured by job offers that became military deployments. According to Ablakwa, 55 of them had died. “They have no security background. They have no military background. They have not been trained,” he said in a news conference in Kyiv. “They were just lured and deceived and then put on the front lines.”
Similarly, a February intelligence report to Kenya’s parliament detailed that 1,000 Kenyans had been recruited to fight for Russia, and 89 were on the front lines as of that time. It further noted that one Kenyan had died, 39 were hospitalized, and 28 were missing in action. Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi called the trafficking “unacceptable and clandestine” and called for an agreement with Moscow barring the recruitment of Kenyans.
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Similarly, South Africa, a BRICS member nation that has preserved strong ties with Russia, announced February 26 that two of its nationals had died fighting for Moscow. Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola visited the families of 11 citizens whose return to South Africa had been negotiated. The men had been promised security training in Russia. In November, officials had received a call for help from South Africans who said they were trapped fighting with Russian mercenaries in Donbas.
Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry likewise warned its citizens in February against fighting in foreign conflicts. The ministry did not name Russia, but said several Nigerians “were deployed to combat zones after being misled and coerced into signing military service contracts.”
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Those who are deceived into fighting for Russia are recruited by local agents or directly from Russia. Kenyan police arrested a 33-year-old man after his return from Russia on charges of recruiting for the Russian military. At least five people were under investigation in South Africa, including a daughter of former President Jacob Zuma.
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